The Irish Century series is the story of the Irish people's epic struggle for independence through the tumultuous course of the 20th century. Morgan Llywelyn's magisterial multi-novel chronicle of that story began with 1916 , which was followed by 1921 and 1949. It now continues with 1972, which covers the events and social changes of the mid-century in Ireland through the story of the coming-of-age of Barry Halloran, son of Ursula Halloran (the heroine of 1949). Barry moves from patriotic involvement in the IRA, to an aversion to explosives and guns and a career as a photographer, to a final moment of radicalization in the face of the horrifying injustices in Northern Ireland that crystalized on Bloody Sunday in Derry in 1972.
A chronicle of life in Ireland between 1950 and 1972, through Barry's journey the novel gives a clear understanding of social changes, pressure points, and vivid moments of historical importance. Clear parallels are drawn to the American civil rights movements of the 1960s, which in part motivated the patriotic and oppressed Irish Catholics. At the same time, there is the continuation of the family saga that links all the volumes of this series, and a passionate romance for Barry. Morgan Llywelyn is at her storytelling best in 1972.
From Booklist
Llywelyn has given the volumes in her Irish Century series, which chronicles the significant periods and events in Ireland's resistance to and independence from British rule, titles corresponding to momentous years; the first series installment, 1916 (1998), was followed by 1921 (2001) and 1949 (2003). The author's chief success in these volumes lies in her ability to create characters from a previous time who possess contemporary vibrancy and viability. Readers who have been following the sequence will appreciate the continued familial connections from one novel to the next, and this latest one sees explosive issues in Northern Ireland culminating in 1972 on Bloody Sunday in Derry. Brad Hooper
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Review
Praise for 1972
"As the multi-novel nears our own age, the reader draws more deeply into the flow of events and the characters. The years whistle by with joy and gunpowder."
--Kirkus
"This novel is Irish history brought to thrilling life by the acclaimed Morgan Llywelyn . . .A chronicle of life in Ireland between 1950 and 1972, the novel gives a clear understanding of social changes, pressure points, and vivid movements of historical importance. . . .Morgan Llywelyn is at her storytelling best in 1972."
--_Boston Irish Reporter
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"[Morgan Llywelyn's] strength comes from her extraordinary ability to place the story in the surrounding politics of the time. . . . Llywelyn's grasp of Northern Ireland history is superb, and the immediacy of her writing is extremely gripping . . . . Llywelyn convincingly describes the bitter disappointment and the worsening violence that would culminate in Bloody Sunday in 1972. This ambitious series proves that Llywelyn is not some naive outsider writing romantic historical novels about Ireland's bloody political past. Her research is accomplished, her narrative style is gripping."
--Irish Voice
"Llywelyn is an astute observer of matters Irish, and understands the passions that move the actors. 1972 's ending is as tragic and inevitable as a tombstone, and as memorable as Swift's quip: The Irish have religion enough to hate, but not enough to love."
-Richmond -Times Dispatch